CHICAGO — For a week in late July, speculation ran rampant after a story in the Des Moines Register seemed to imply the Big Ten was actively considering expanding to a 12-team league. Such a move would likely mean splitting the league into two divisions, with divisional champions meeting in a conference championship game.

"I think we need to look at [expansion] in the next year," Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney told the newspaper.

Although at the time Delaney did not name any possible teams to join the league, that didn't stop newspaper columnists, message board posters, bloggers or anyone else with an opinion to share, from throwing in their two cents as to which schools may be on the conference's wish list.

At the Big Ten Conference Media Day, July 31, Delaney attempted to dispel much of the talk by saying in the aftermath of the initial report — which he deemed correct — fans and observers misinterpreted his comments and that expansion is not a "front-burner issue."

"It's interesting that as it gets out there and gets reiterated, you might think the Big Ten is about to expand when that is not the case," Delaney said.

"What I said was every 3-5 years we look at expansion and we will continue to look at it."

Delaney did concede that with the Big Ten Network set to launch Aug. 30, the conference's approach to expansion may change.

"From the television perspective it is a little bit different. … When you have a Big Ten Network, you have more hours to produce games, more room for content,, and you also have a possibly larger base from which to distribute that network."

The last time the Big Ten talked about expansion was in 1999, when the conference tried to entice storied, independent Notre Dame into becoming the league's 12th school. Notre Dame ended up turning down the offer, and the expansion issue faded from the Big Ten's agenda.

If the conference ever does decide to expand, a school similar to Notre Dame, or Penn State, which joined the Big Ten in 1990, will be the target, Delaney said. When Penn State was added, the conference looked at factors such as academic quality similar to the current member schools, commitment to a broad base of programs, and marketing potential before admitting the school.

Delaney did come out strongly against the notion that the league would expand with the purpose of adding a championship game to the football schedule.

"We're not looking for a championship game. If we were looking for a championship game, we would have had one 15 years ago." Delaney said.

Not a "plus"

In every college football season as of late, the Bowl Championship Series and the possibility of replacing it with a playoff system similar to every other major sport becomes a major issue. One position seen as a compromise has been the "plus one" model, which would pair the winners of two bowls in a national championship game. Delaney, however, said the conference does not support that idea.

"We don't see how the "plus one" works without seeding, and we don't see how seeding would work and still maintain the traditional Rose Bowl," he said.

Traditionally, the Rose Bowl is played between the Big Ten champion and the champion of the Pac-10 Conference.

Test time

The Big Ten is joining the national drug testing movement. Delaney announced, beginning this year., 10 percent of athletes in the Big Ten will undergo testing for performance-enhancing drugs. The tests will not look for recreational drugs, and a first positive test will trigger a suspension of one year.